Finals update: Trace Crowe flies into contention for first PGA TOUR card

NEWBURGH, Ind. – Trace Crowe wasn’t expecting to be here.

The Auburn alum began the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season with conditional status. He lived the alternate life until finishing 11th at the HomeTown Lenders Championship in late April – earning the final spot in the field that Friday morning, after fog prevented any play Thursday.

After three straight missed cuts in the dog days of summer, Crowe lifted his game from the fog during the Korn Ferry Tour’s two-week break in early September, tweaking a few fundamentals and sharpening the mental game. Now he has set the stage for the biggest weekend of his career.

Crowe entered the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance on the strength of back-to-back top-10 finishes, moving to 33rd on the Points List, and he was pleased but not satisfied. There was more work to be done. Crowe, 26, followed an opening-round 73 at Victoria National Golf Club with a 6-under 66 in Friday’s second round. He has moved into a tie for eighth on the leaderboard, four back of co-leaders Ben Kohles and Mason Andersen.

At this stage in the proceedings, though, the Points List is the predominant leaderboard of focus. Crowe is projected No. 28 on the Points List through two of four rounds at Victoria National. The top 30 on the Points List after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship will earn 2024 PGA TOUR membership.

Crowe turned pro in 2020 and has steadily ascended the professional ranks across the past four years, highlighted by a victory at the NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank in July – which moved him to within striking distance of the Korn Ferry Tour’s ultimate prize. The South Carolina native is positioned for a TOUR card with two days remaining in the season, and he’s ready to embrace this weekend’s challenge.

“Dude, honestly, I didn’t even think I was going to be playing on this Tour this year,” Crowe said after the second round at Victoria National on a sun-kissed Friday that sharply contrasted to Thursday’s consistent rains. “Just to be in this position, I’m just super grateful and I’m excited at the opportunity. I love it when the moments are like this. I like it when there’s pressure and s*** gets weird.

“It’s so much fun. I’m not looking at the board or anything, because the bubble and all that. … you make a birdie, ‘Ahh, probably in.’ You make a bogey, ‘Ahh, probably out.’ It’s just whatever. … just go play good, and we’ll see at the end.”

After missing those three consecutive cuts in August, Crowe met with swing instructor Scott Hamilton for a lesson, whom he has worked with off-and-on for the last five years or so. He had been bringing the club inside and steepening the shaft, he said – the product of playing seven consecutive weeks and falling into bad habits. They worked on basic things to shallow the swing, which is all Crowe needed – plus a clearer mind after two weeks off – to hit the ground running for the season’s stretch run.

It led to Crowe matching Friday’s low round at Victoria National – carding eight birdies against two bogeys – and moving into position for his first PGA TOUR card.

“This past week off, you’re itching to get here. It’s like, ‘Can we just play already?’” Crowe said Friday. “Yesterday, played really good. … I was 3 under with three to go and finished 1 over, so I was really hungry to get out here today, and I played great.”

TOP-30 BUBBLE

The top 30 players on the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Points List, finalized after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, will earn 2024 PGA TOUR membership.

The top 16 players on the Points List into the week have mathematically clinched their spots in the top 30, with the final 14 cards to be determined this weekend at Victoria National.

Nos. 17-23 on the Points List entered the week with a sizable cushion on the bubble, with the bubble most tightly contested between Nos. 26 and 33. Entering the week, there was only a 29-point gap between No. 26 Carter Jenkins and No. 33 Trace Crowe, the equivalent of a 31st-place finish at Victoria National. Anything can and will happen this week.

After two rounds at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship, four players are projected to move inside the top 30, including co-leader Mason Andersen. Chase Seiffert currently holds the projected No. 30 spot, just .113 points ahead of Shad Tuten. Seiffert entered the week at No. 28 on the Points List and has opened in rounds of 71-71 at Victoria National; he stands T17 for the tournament.

Projected in

Mason Andersen (No. 42 to No. 8): The Arizona State alum has a hearty contingent of supporters on-site in southern Indiana – they’re staying in cabins a few miles down the road – and the Korn Ferry Tour rookie is putting on a show for his family and friends. Andersen has opened in rounds of 64-71 at Victoria National, capping things off Friday with a 40-foot birdie at the par-4 18th that sent the crowd into a frenzy, and he’ll take a shot at his first TOUR card this weekend.

Matt McCarty (No. 37 to No. 20): The Santa Clara alum enjoyed the first two rounds alongside good friend Mac Meissner, and McCarty opened in 69-68 to assume a T3 position into the weekend at Victoria National. Although McCarty has jumped 17 spots to projected No. 20, his position is still certainly tenuous – he holds just a one-stroke cushion on a top-30 spot; two bogeys would move him to projected No. 32. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old has a chance at his first TOUR card this weekend.

Wilson Furr (No. 32 to No. 27): The Alabama alum has jockeyed for position around the bubble for the majority of the season’s stretch run, and the pattern holds true this week in southern Indiana. Furr stands T8 at Victoria National with rounds of 71-68, and he carries a one-stroke cushion on a top-30 spot with two rounds to play.

Trace Crowe (No. 33 to No. 28): The Auburn alum bounced back from an opening-round 73 at Victoria National by matching Friday’s low round with a 6-under 66. He’s T8 on the leaderboard, holding a one-stroke cushion on a top-30 spot into the weekend. He knows he’s in for a wild ride, and he’s embracing the challenge.

Projected out

Shad Tuten (No. 29 to No. 31): The Georgia native stands T17 on the leaderboard with rounds of 69-73, leaving him projected .113 points shy of a TOUR card into the weekend. Tuten saw a little bit of everything in Friday’s second round; he made eagle at the par-5 ninth, but he carded double bogeys at Nos. 11 and 17. The newly minted dad is in for the ride of his life this weekend, and he’s up for the challenge. “I feel like I just got out of a boxing match,” Tuten laughed after his round. “It was quite the grind.”

Joe Highsmith (No. 27 to No. 32): The Pepperdine alum had an eclectic second round at Victoria National, including an up-and-down from a chair at the 17th hole, leading to a 2-under 70 that positions him T27 into the weekend at 1-under total. Highsmith has recorded nine top-25s in 19 starts as a Korn Ferry Tour rookie – he missed time midseason due to a back injury – and will fight for his first TOUR card this weekend. He’s projected 12.4 points shy of a TOUR card; one more birdie would project him inside the top 30.

Carter Jenkins (No. 26 to No. 33): The North Carolina native moved into position for his first TOUR card with a runner-up at last month’s Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, but he struggled to a first-round 84 at Victoria National that complicated matters. Jenkins battled back with a 2-under 70 in Friday’s second round, but he’s still T68 for the week and projected 39 points shy of a TOUR card. As things stand, he would need a top-23 this week to earn a TOUR card, and he’s 12 strokes off that pace.

Jackson Suber (No. 30 to No. 35): The Ole Miss alum entered the week as the bubble boy, but he’s T60 at Victoria National after opening in rounds of 76-74. He projects 54 points shy of a TOUR card into the weekend, needing to make up nine shots as projections currently stand.

THE LEADERS

Mason Andersen and Ben Kohles share the 36-hole lead at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. They’ve matched 9-under 135 at Victoria National, two strokes clear of Alejandro Tosti, Matt McCarty and Steven Fisk. It’s a tale of two pros; Andersen is playing his first Korn Ferry Tour season after advancing from pre-qualifying through Final Stage of Q-School last fall, while Kohles turned pro in 2012 (winning his first two Korn Ferry Tour starts) and is set to graduate from the Korn Ferry Tour for the third time. Andersen began the week at No. 42 on the Points List and has played his way into the projected No. 8 position, while Kohles began the week No. 1 and is looking to stave off challengers to secure the season-long No. 1 spot and all its laurels.

CHASE FOR NO. 1

The top finisher on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour Points List will earn fully exempt 2024 PGA TOUR membership and will qualify for the 2024 U.S. Open and THE PLAYERS Championship.

Ben Kohles entered the week in the No. 1 position, with Nos. 2-6 on the Points List having a mathematical chance to supplant Kohles and finish No. 1. Kohles, a two-time winner this season, has opened in rounds of 68-67 at Victoria National and shares the 36-hole lead at 9-under 135.

There’s plenty on the line for Kohles, who was born in North Carolina (next year’s U.S. Open will be contested at Pinehurst No. 2) and now resides in the Jacksonville Beaches region of northeast Florida (which hosts THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass). A victory at Victoria National would also allow him to compete in the FedExCup Fall via a Three-Victory Promotion.

Kohles’ dad Kevin is in attendance this week, and the younger Kohles is putting on a show.

“I know what comes with No. 1,” Kohles said Friday. “I try not to really know, but yeah, I know if I play well, then it takes care of itself. That was my goal kind of coming in and … I've done a pretty good job so far. We're halfway done, so there's still a lot of golf to play.

“Obviously all these guys in this field are here for a reason and … anything can happen this weekend. I'm not going to let anything get to my head. Still got to grind for the next 36 holes.”

Here's a look at those with a mathematical chance to finish No. 1 (behind Kohles), how they’ve fared through 36 holes, and what they need for a chance to supplant Kohles:

No. 2 Chan Kim: T13 (needs two-way T2)

No. 3 Rico Hoey: T13 (needs two-way T2)

No. 4 Ben Silverman: T39 (needs solo second)

No. 5 Alejandro Tosti: T3 (needs win)

No. 6 Pierceson Coody: T70 (needs win)

FIGHTING FOR FINAL STAGE

After the 30 PGA TOUR cards are finalized, Nos. 31-60 on the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Points List will qualify for Final Stage of PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, which will offer five TOUR cards (and ties). Nos. 61-75 on the season-ending Points List will begin Q-School at Second Stage.

Steven Fisk, who entered the week at No. 63, has carded rounds of 71-66 at Victoria National and stands T3 into the weekend, just two off the lead. He’s projected No. 54 – good for a ticket to Final Stage – and will begin the third round with a legitimately chance at a victory, just two strokes off the lead. With a win at Victoria National, he would very likely move inside the top 30 and earn his first TOUR card. Possibilities abound for the Georgia Southern alum. It’s the beauty of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship and why it’s known as the “Greatest Week in Sports.”

Here’s a look at players around the top-60 bubble into the week and how they project through 36 holes at Victoria National:

No. 56 Quade Cummins: T51 (4-over 148), projected No. 58

No. 57 Jeremy Paul: T31 (Even-par 144), projected No. 56

No. 58 Sam Saunders: T44 (3-over 147), projected No. 59

No. 59 Paul Peterson: T44 (3-over 147), projected No. 60

No. 60 Patrick Cover: T51 (4-over 148), projected No. 61

No. 61 Brad Hopfinger: T68 (10-over 154), projected No. 63

No. 62 Davis Chatfield: T33 (1-over 145), projected No. 62

No. 63 Steven Fisk: T3 (7-under 137), projected No. 54